Planoanapii co



0. W. McKNIGHT.

SPUR FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10. I919.

1 ,3 1 4, 682 Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

m avweutoz 0. W. McKNIGHT.

SPUR FORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- l0. 9Y9- 1 ,3 1 4:, 682 Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' UNITED STATsg ATENT OFFICE I it OSCAR MCKNIGHT, or eoLUMBUs, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRUNT TILE AND rononnem CQMPANY, or COLUMBUSVOHIO, A ooaPoRA'rron or OHIO.

seen-romaine MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that OSCAR XV. MoKNIon'r, a citizen of the United St a tes,'residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, has invented certain new and useful Iniprovementsin Spur-Forming Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to spur forming machines, and has particular reference to an improvedmachinefor forming spurs or. similar ofi'set projections upon the shank portions of securing nails, or other equivalent. devices, which are employed in connecting the separable sections of porcelain insulator knobs, and which serve to prevent undue separation of said sections so that the knobs as a whole will be kept in an intact and assembled condition suitable for trade handling. a I

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above character which will be reliable and efiicient in service, convenient and safe to operate and capable of forming the spurs with exceptional speed and accuracy.

Another object resides in an improved die structure for the machine, which consists essentially of a pair o'lispaced reciprocatory die nen'ibers, the latter being arranged to engage with the shank of a nail, or an equivalent, so as to strike or press out the section holding spurs or project-ions onoppo site sides of said shank, the die arrange ment being such that spurs of maximum proportions will be produced without weakening to any practical extent the general strength of the nail, or in any way interfere 1 ing with itsgeneral utilityvof holding a 40 knob in associated relation with a cooperative member, I v i A further obj ect of the invention is to perinitof a rapid lateral feed of the knobs into i an operative position .upon the machine, and to provide means for gu ding the knobs into such position wherein the nails thereof will bestationed in al nement withthe the members, this function bemg capable of accomplishinent without involving any eon-V siderable attention or care on part of the. machine operator, and serves to insure accuracy of alinement of the knob sections and l the securing elements or nails carried therebv with respect to said die members.

A still further object resides in the pro- 1 9 19. Seria1No. asrcesf vision of means for supporting or holding the nails at positions both above and below their point of engagement with the die members, so that when the latter areretracted from spur torming enga ement with said nails, the pressure exercised bythe die members thereon will be prevented from bendingor kinking the nails by the bracing action of the holding means.

Other objects reside in forming the ,die members with relatively flat upper surfaces which permit the same to operate relatively nearthe knob supporting shelf of the machine, so that the spurs formed by said members will be located relatively close to the base section of the knob, thus preventingundue or wide separating movement on part of the knob sections so'that the latter will occupy but a minimum of space in storage or in transportation; to render the die members reversible in their holder so that when wear takes place at their cutting edges the relative positions of the members may be reversed to present other cutting edges of greater efliciency; to provide an adjustable thrust. or wear recei ying plate upon which the nails rest during the spur forming process, this plate serving to receiwe the thrust oi the die members and the wear imparted thereby, so that when worn at any particular point the plate is capable of being adjusted to present an unworn surface to receive the die pressure, thereby render; ing the stroke of the (lie members uniform, eliminating undue Jbends'in the hail shanks and insuring the iformation ,Qf Properly shaped spurs upon said nail shanks; and' to provide a driving mechanism for recipro eating the die members, to which a relatively high speed is initially applied and which is stepped down and transformed to; impart to the die members the slow but relativclv powerful force necessary in pressing out the spurs, this structureserving to eliminate belt troubles and effectsa smoothly operating machine. a a

lVith these and other objects in viewgas will appear as the description proceeds, the invention accordingly consists in ,the novel features of construction, combinations of part of this Specification, and in which similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts:

Figure 1" is atop planview of the spur forming machine comprising the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof,takenalong the plane disclosed by the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the die structure, along the line 33 of Fig. 1. p v

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the work supporting structure, the plane of which being disclosed by the line 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detailed View of the knob supporting shelf.

Fig. 6 is a detailed perspectiveview of the nail holding hook member and the cooperative thrust plate.

Fig. .7 is. a perspective view of an insulator knob of the type upon which the machine operates.

Fig. 8 is a view of one of the die members.

Fig. 9 is'a detailed view of the securing nail employed bythe knob, and illustrating the spurs formed thereon. y

, Fig. 10 is a detailed sectional view disclosing the spur forming operation of the die members, and I Fig. 11 is a detailed modification of the die members.- V

The machine A comprising the present invention is preferably used in connection with the manufacture of porcelain insulator knobs of the type employed in effecting the erection of electrical wiring systems. These knobs, as is well known, are a ceramic product and are formed to include a base section 1 and a separable top. section 2, which sec-- tions' are provided with registering grooves 3 to receive electrical conductors. To hold the sections together, use is made of a nail '4, which extends through alining openings formed axially in the sections a'nd is providedwith the usual headed and upper end 5 and a sharpened lower end 6, by means of whichthe nail may be driven into any suitable support so as to hold theknob in a stationary position in connection with said support, a washer 7 of leather being situatedbetween the end 5 of the nail and the top section 2, so that the knob as a whole will not be damaged during the process of connecting the same to the support. In the handling of these knobs, it has been found advisable to -form or provide the lower end of the nail 4 with means to prevent the sections from becoming separated, so as to prevent the parts formlng the knob from becoming lost and -to always maintain said knob in an assembled or intact condition. To this end a washer may be provided upon the nail at the point between its extremity 6 and. the lower end of the base section 1, but this practice has been found to be objectionable in that the washer interferes with the proper securing of the knob to the support andalso adds considerable expense to its manufacture when. this latter factor is viewed from a standpoint of large production. Therefore, it has been found that by merely striking out spurs or ofise t projections, 8 upon the shanks of the nails 4, that spreading of the knob sections will be effectively prevented, irrespectiveiof the hard usage and rough handling to which the knobs are subjected. Therefore, the present invention provides a machine for expedi tiously' and efiiciently forming said spurs upon the nails 4 in a very economical and practical manner.

To this end, the machine A in-its preferred embodiment consists of a metallic base 9 upon one end of which there are provided depending cap bearings 10, the latter being: employed to rotatably receive the power shaft 11 of the machine. shaft may be driven in any suitable manner, either by the direct application of a motor or by the provision of a belt wheel (not shown) This and is preferably driven at a high rate of speed in order to eliminate belt troubles or x '14, thus owing to the use of the enlarged gear 13, the rotation of the cam shaft 14 will be considerably lower than that of the power shaft 11. The cam shaft is mounted in vertically upstanding bearings 15 carried by the base 9, and situated betweensaid bearings 15 is a cam 16 which is mounted to rotate .in connection with the shaft 14. Encircling this cam is a strap 17, to which is connected a link 18, the latter having its opposite end pivotally connected with the rear end of a reciprocatory die holder 19. By use of this construction, the cam 16 will impart a back and forth sliding movement to the holder 19.

The holder 19 is mounted for reciproca tion within guide bearings 20 integrally formed with the base 9, and which are provided with adjustable wear plates or gibs 21, the latter being capableof being brought to bear upon the inclined sides 22 of the holder with more or less friction by means ofthe,

adjusting screws 23. It will of course be apparent that the gibs 21 serve to center the holder 19 within-the bearings 20 and insure accurate sliding movement thereof. Byadjusting the screws 23, the'wear upon the gibs 21 may be readily compensated for. Removable cover strips 24 are carried by the upper surfaces of the bearings 20 and serve to prevent undue raising movement on part of the holder 19- and effectively locate the latter within the-bearings 20. a

sees-es The holder lt) has its upper surface re= cessed with'p'arallel grooves 25 which are arranged to receive a pair of spaced horizontally extending die, members 26, the latter being clamped to the holder b the rovision of an adjustablecap vplateo2 .WhlCll. bears upon the rounded ends 28 of the die members so as to firmly bind the latter in secured relation with said holder, cap. screws .29 being employed in this capacity to unite the 4 plate 27 with said holder.

-. rigid and secure manner.

The forward ends of the die members are cut away to provide substantially flat upper surfaces 30, which terminate forwardly in adjacent cuttingedges 31. These surfaces 30 are positioned immediately below a knob supporting shelf 32, which is carried upon a block 33 formed upon the forward end of the base 9, cap screws 34 being employed to unite the shelf 32 with said block in a This shelf is formed to provide a knob receiving socket or recess 35, which opens upon one of the side edges of the shelf and the bottom wall of this socket is formed with a slot 36 also in. open communication with the side edge of said shelf. By virtue of this construction, a knob: issslipped into positionflupon the shelf 32 so that the nail 4 thereof will be in a position to be operated upon by the die members 26. It will be noted, by reference to Fig. 4, that the base section 1 of the knob will rest directly upon the bottom wall of the socket 35, and that the depending shankportion of the nail 4 will be positioned within the slot 36 andwill depend below the latter. This open construction of the socket 35 and the slot36 permits knobs to be fed into position upon the machine by a lateral. motion and, furthermore, the

. 3 socket and slot are of such proportions that when the. knob has been pushed into the same to its limit of movement,the nail 4 will be inta position to cooperate with the die members. It will be observed that this feeding of the knobs intothe machine can be quickly accomplished, and that no particular care need be exercised in 'efi'ecting their precise location.

7 Immediately after the insertion of a knob into the socket 35, the die members will move forwardly so that their spaced cutting edges 31 will engage with opposite sides of the nail shank to press out the spurs or pro jections 8. To backup this spur forming operation on part of the die members, the

f block 33 is provided with a horizontal opening 37 in which is positioned the reduced end 38' of a thrust or wear receiving plate 39. The latter is located immed ately under a. the shelf 32 and is located in horizontal alinement with the die members, so that as the latter engage with the nails 4, the force or pressure exercised by said die members will be imparted to a great extent directly ends of the die members.

to the wear plate, 39,; and which being formed from hardened steel will be capable of withstanding the die pressures for a con: siderable period of service. It is for this reason that the wear plate is used, instead of enlarging the block 33 to permit it to accomplish similar functions, as said block is usually formed from cast iron and therefore does not posscssthe desired degree of hardness. It has been foundithat the pressure ofthc nail upon the plate 39 in connection with the die members will form in said plate after considerable use a groove or crease corresponding to the. curvature of the nail 4, which if not rectified, will reduce the effectiveness of the die members, by shortening their stroke and will also tend to bend the shank of said nail. This is overcome by simply rotating the plate 39 so that an unworn surface will be presented to the cutting A set screw 40 may be used in holding said plate 39 in any of its adjusted positions, and a thrust screw 41 is employed to engage with the end 38 of said plate 39 to receive the pressure exercised by said die members.

As shown in Fig. 10, the cutting edges 31 of the die members engage with opposite sides of the nail shank to produce the spurs 8, and so that the body of the shank will be positioned between the dies when the latter reach the end of their stroke. This has a tendency to resiliently spread in lateral directions the endsof the die members and to permit of this spreading movement, the groves 25 are slightly enlarged as is shown in Fig. 3. Thus the dies are permitted to spread a limited distance and fracture thereof is therefore eliminated, as practice has disclosed that if the die members do not separate or resiliently spread, fracture is very likely to occur therein after a short period of use. As above stated, the cutting edges 31 will resiliently grip the shank of the nail 4 (hiring the spur forming operation, and hence during the retraction of the die members from engagement with said shank, it is necessary to hold the latter to prevent the rearwardly moving dies from bending said shank. To this end, the block 33 is provided with a hook structure 42, which is located adjacent to the wear plate 39 and is mounted in place by means of an integral horizontally extending bolt 43, which passes through aniopening therefor formed in the block 33, said bolt having its end threaded to receive a binding nut 44, whereby the hook structure as a whole is rigidly supported in an operative position. Anopen slot 45 is formed in the structure 42 and is located in alinement with the slot 36 of the knob shelf in order that when a knob is positioned within the structure 35, the lower end of its nail 4 will extend through said slot 36 and also through the and to thereby form the spurs, or pro ections- 8 upon the nails 4 at positions within the "immediate proximity of' the lower end of the base section 1 of the knobs. By forming the V projections relatively high up "upon the two as in'thepreferred form.

shanks ofthe nails 4, wide separating movement on part-of the'kn-ob sections is prevented, thus economizing in the space required in storing the knobs. Furthermore, in the event of the cutting edges 31 becoming worn, it is simply necessary to reverse the positions of the cutting members within the holder 19.: This will present a new set of cuttingedges and will not necessitatethe sharpening of said cutting edges until both sets have been completely worn. In further carrying out this idea, a modification of the die members has been shown in Fig. 11, wherein each die member 26 is provided with four cutting edges instead of This modified structure has the advantage of permitting of greater periods of use without re-sharpening on part of the die members and is quite advantageous in this respect, however, its disadvantage lies in the fact that the formation of the spurs 8 will be at a point considerably lower upon the shanks of the nails 4 than'the spurs produced by the die members 26, this permits OfrelatiXely greater separation on. part of the knob sections and consequently requlres morestorage space. Both forms;

however, have been found to be perfectly satisfactory under certain condltions.

'From the foregoing ClBSCIlPtlOIl, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

it will be apparent that a machine has been provided whereby the objects of the invention have been achieved and one wherein considerable .utility resides. The machine is perfectly safe to speedily operate, and if the same should prove defective in any particular case, this defect may bereadily recognized, since when the operator removes a knob from the shelf '32, the same is lifted by means of its top sectionQ, and hence if the spurs arenot properly formed, the nail 4 will slip out of the base section,thusnotify'- ing the operator of the defect. *This factor furnishes a decided advantage over the machines of the'prior art which while forming the spurs will not notify an operator if the machine is not acting properly. Again all of the movable operatingparts of the machine are located beneath the shelf32 and this factserves to prevent thefingers of an operator from being caught insuch movable parts. The shelf 32 is provided with a beveled edge 46 so that when the die members advance, the cap, plate 27 will not be caused to flushly engage with the edge 46 of the shelf, since by virtue of this beveled edge a space is provided to prevent the operators fingers from being caught therebe- To prevent the fracture .of the knobs 1 when the dies 26-are forced into engagement' with the securing nails 4, the recess 35, as will be noted upon'reference to Fig. 2, is

appreciably'wider than the diameter of the knobs. This prevents the knobs fro-mbeing wedged into engagement with the sidewall of the recess, and consequentlyavoids chip ping or cracking on part of said knob. In

order to take up wear upon the cutting ends 31 of the dies, the latter are capable of being longitudinally adjusted by' means of set screws, which arethreaded into receiving openings formed in the holder 19. It is obvious that by adjusting said screws the dis with respect to said dies and having guide slots formed therein'to locate the securing elements of said knobs in alinement with said dies, whereby upon'the advance ofthe latter,"

spurs will be pressed out of said devices to prevent separation of the knob sections.

2 A spur forming machine comprising a reciprocatory die holder, a pair of horizontally located dies carried by said holder,

a knob supporting shelf stationarily'located with respect to said dies and having guide slotsformed therein to 'locatethe securing elements of said knobs in" alinement with i said dies, whereby upon the advance ofthe latter, spurs will be pressed out of said devices to preventseparation of the knob sections, and a hook structure located below said dies and serving to grip said securing device to prevent its bending during the release of the dies from engagement therewith. l a

3. A'spur forming machine comprising a" reciprocatory die holder, a pair of'dies car-' ried by said holder, a knob supporting shelf under which said dies operate, said shelf serving to maintain a knob securing device in the path of travel and at a position -sub-' stantially between said dies in order that the advance of the latter will press out spurs upon said device.

at. A spur formin machine comprising a reciprocatory die holder, a pair of dies carried by said holder, a knob supporting shelf under which said dies operate, said shelf serving to maintain a knob securing device in the path of travel and at a osition substantially between said dies in orc or that the advance of the latter will press out spurs upon said device, and means operable to en gage said device both above and below its die engaging portion to hold and support the same during the retraction of the dies from engagement therewith.

5. A spur forming machine comprising a reciprocatory die holder, a pair of dies mounted in spaced relation within said holder, a stationary block, a knob supporting shelf projecting from said block and overlying said dies, said shelf being slotted to permit a knob securing nail to project into the path of travel of and to align itself with said dies, whereby upon the advance of the latter, said nail will be forced into engagement with said block in order that spurs will be pressed out of the same by its engagement with the dies.

6. A spur forming machine comprising a reciprocatory die holder, a pair of dies mounted in spaced relation within said holder, a stationary block, a knob supporting shelf projecting from said block and overlying said dies, said shelf being slotted to permit a knob securing nail to project into the path of travel of and to aline itself with said dies, whereby upon the advance of the latter, said nail will be forced into engagement with said block in order that spurs will be pressed out of the same by its engagement with the dies, and means for embracing said nail both above and below thedies to hold the same stationarily during the retraction of the dies from engagement therewith.

7. A spur forming machine comprising a base, an actuating shaft rotatably supported in connection with said base, a die holder slidably mounted in bearings carried by said base, means connecting said shaft with said holder to effect the reciprocation of the latter, a pair of spaced-dies horizontally supported within said holder, a block stationarily mounted in connection with said base, a work supporting shelf projecting from said block and having a slotted knob receiving socket formed therein, said socket being terminated at a position to locate the securing nail of said knob in alinemcnt with the movable dies, whereby upon the advance of the latter into engagement with the nail, spurs will be pressed out of said nail, and an adjustable wear plate carried by said block and arranged to receive the thrust of said dies.

8. A spur forming machine comprising a base, an actuating shaft rotatably supported in connection with said base, a die holder slidably mounted in bearings carried by said base, means connecting said shaft with said holder to effect the reciprocation of the latter, a pair of spaced dies horizontally supported within said holder, at block stationarily mounted in connection with said base, a work supporting shelf projecting from said block and having a slotted knob receiving socket formed therein, said socket being terminated at a position to locate the securing nail of said knob in alinementwith the movable dies, whereby upon the advance of the latter into engagement with the nail, spurs will be pressed out of said nail, an adjustable wear plate carried by said block and arranged to receive the thrust of said dies, and a structure located beneath said shelf and operating to maintain the nail in a stationary position during the retraction of the dies from engagement therewith.

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a knob supporting shelf, of a pair of spaced IOClPlTOCtItOI) dies operating beneath said shelf, and said dies being reduced and provided with flattened surfaces to permit the same to operate immediately adjacent the lower surface of said shelf.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a slotted knob supporting shelf, through which a knob securing device is adapted to project, a pair of spaced movable dies slidably mounted be neath said shelf and movable into engagement with said device so that the latter will be confined therebetween, and means cooperative with said dies to permit of slight lateral spreading movement thereof during their engagement with said device.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

oscAR'W. MoKNIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). O. 

